Farmers to Appeal 'Bay Diet' Decision

Call case favoring EPA "wrongly decided"

On September 13, a federal judge upheld EPA pollution limits aimed at improving the condition of the 64,000-square-mile Chesapeake Bay. Along with six states, the EPA has moved to reduce farm runoff --including nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment -- in rivers that drain into the bay.

On Tuesday (October 8), both the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Corn Growers Association announced they would appeal the decision.

“This is a wrongly decided case that has dangerous implications for farmers and many others in the Chesapeake Bay area and nationwide,” said AFBF President Bob Stallman. “This case isn’t about whether or not to protect the Chesapeake Bay -- we all share that goal. This case is about whether EPA can dictate where farming will be allowed, where homes can be built, and where businesses can be established. By taking over decisions like that, EPA has turned the whole concept of cooperative federalism out the barn door.”

That concept has been out of the barn door for ages. We have effectively given the EPA the right to regulate every aspect of our lives.  All they have to do is declare that a particular activity might be harmful to us using some extended and twisted logic chain.